The English star who scored two goals in the match said, "I believe our performance in the second half was much better. In the first half, we lacked some focus in ball possession and didn't show the necessary energy without the ball."

He added: "At the start of the second half, we entered with greater determination and higher intensity, which was reflected in our performance as we managed to score at the right time. We might not have been lucky with the red card incident, but despite being a player down, we maintained good control over the course of the match. Overall, we secured three valuable points."

"Securing direct qualification to the Round of 16 is certainly very important. Last season, we didn't manage to secure direct qualification, which made February extremely busy and challenging because we had to go through the playoffs at that time."

He concluded: "I commend the players for how they have handled this challenge so far. We still have one more match, and we aim to finish the stage in the highest position possible, which is why this victory was extremely important."